Improvement in artificial arms



2 a /w M a w m n., mm. wf @d DZ AM. PHOTO-LITRO. B0. N-Y. (OSBORNE'SPROcESS.)

. Miren STATES iATgENr Prien.-

JAOOB PETERSON, OF CANOGA, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL ARMS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JACOB PETERsoN, of thevillage of Canoga, in the county of Seneca and State of' New York, haveinvented a new and improved artificial hand and arm, and a new andimproved mode of constructing and operating the same 5 and I do herebydeclare t`1at the following is a full and exact descrip tion thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct my arm and hand of heavy, solid leather, mainly with thenatural number of joints to the thumb, fingers, and arm.

In commencing the construction of my hand and 'arm I take well-tannedsole leather of sufficient weight that three thicknesses will givesufficient width to form' one of the fingers or the thumb, and longenough to reach from the wrist-joint p E, Figure l, to the end of thefinger, and this I cut into strips Wide enough to form the thickness ofthe body of the hand. I then take three of these strips of sole-leatherand form a bow-top joint at each of the finger-joints, by placing thestrips side by side,l stitching them firmly together, except at thejoints, which are fastened with rivets. (More clearly shown in Fig. 2,where a b c represent the three strips of leather placed side by sideand j j jthe bow-top joints of the iinger. These bow-top joints are alsoshown by j j j, Fig. 1.) The other fingers I construct in the samemanner. I'theu place these four fingers side by side and, put one ormore strips of the same leather. between'y each of them, of suitablethickness to form the body of the hand and the Wrist, as shown by d d,Fig. 2, and then I fasten the whole together in some secure way,generally by two rivets through the entire hand in the direction ofgreatest width, one near the knuckle-jointl and the othera little belowthe wrist. I then make the thumb B, Fig. 2, in substantially the samemanner as the fingers, and attach it to the other part of the' hand, bya ball-andsocket joint, the ball being constructed upon the thumb, andsecure the same in place by a strong pliable cord, (shown at g g, Fig.2,) one end of which is fastened to the ball of the thumb, (marked g,Fig.

2.) and the other end, after passing through the socket, (marked h, Fig.2,) is fastened to the back of the hand. I then cover thisball-andsocket joint with an elastic covering, to give it.

a more natural appearance and prevent tool great motion of the joint, asshown at D, F1' g. l.

I close the joints of the thumb and fingers by a strong cord to each, ofcatgut or other suitable material, (marked fj'f, Fig. 1,) and as theoperation of each finger is alike, I will describe .one of them. Ifasten one end of this cord (marked j', Fig. 2) near the end of thefinger, generally by passing it through the finger at the place markedmy, Fig. 2, and fastening it near the bottom of the nail on the back ofthe finger. The other end of this cord is then carried along on theinner surface of the finger, in a groove made for the purpose, under tworollers, one placed midway between each of the two upper joints of thenger', (marked c e, Fig. 2,) and entering the body of the hand justabove the knuckle-joint at l Z I, Fig. 1, Where it passes under a thirdroller, (shown at 7c, Fig. 2,) is carried entirely through the length ofthe hand, as indicated by the dotted lines a a, Fig. 1, in holes madefor the purpose, and through the wrist, and is brought up through holesin the forearm, (marked'o o o, Fig. 1,) just above the wrist, to theoutside ot' the arm, where it is firmly attached to the strap F, Fig. 1.

It will readily be seen that if the strap F be drawn upward it will drawup the cords fff,

Fig. l, and that by the tension of these cordsL the` joints of theiingers and thumb will be.A

moved and the hand closed.

I construct the wrist of two brass or other metal tubes, of slightlydifferent sizes, the one having a coarse thread cut upon the outside,and the other a corresponding thread upon the inside, so that they canbe readily secured together, vand these brass or other metal tubes I'attach by their'other en'ds, the one to the wrist and the other to thelower partei' the forearm, by rivets. rIhese two brass or other metaltubes are marked E and L, Fig. l, and also in Fig. 3, where they arepartly unscrewed, showing the coarse thread N, and the -tube M is thereshown riveted to the part of the forearm G which is shown broken offbelow the tube M. By means of this screw the wrist can be turned, and atthe same time the hand is somewhat thrown down by the action of thescrew in unscrewing, and thus the strain upon the flexor cords f ff,Fig. 1, increasfd. f

I construct the forearm of leather, made into an irregular-shaped tubecorresponding substantiall y to the shape of the natural arm, and somade as to be easily fastened to the stump, when the amputation is belowthe elbow, by a lacing or by straps, and this forearm is marked G,Fig. 1. I also place around the arm, above the elbow, a band of leatherfastened with straps, (marked I, Fig. 1,) connected with the upper partof the forearm by hinged straps of leather or other material, at theelbowjoint, (marked H 1I, Fig. l.) To this leather band I, Fig. 1, abovethe elbow, I also firmly fasten the strap F, Fig. 1, by itsv upper end,its lower end being fastened to the flexor cords fff, Fig. 1. Now, ifthis strap` F,` Fig. 1, is tight when the arm is bent at the elbow, asshown in Fig. 1, and the arm be then straightened, this strap, F, Fig.1, will draw up the flexor cords f f j', Fig. 1, and thus closethengers, and they will remain closed while the arm is straight, unlessso great a weight is placed upon the fingers as to break the iiexorcords or the strap F, Fig. 1. I also connect this band I, Fig. 1, toaflat pad, (marked J, Fig. 1,) by the straps T T, Fig. 1. This pad J, Iplace upon the top of the shoulder, and hold it in place by the strap K,which passes around the body and under the opposite arm, and is securedby a buckle in the ordinary way. The object of this pad J, so secured,is to prevent the leather band I, Fig. 1, from slipping down when thehand is sustaining a heavy weight, by transferring the strain caused bythe weight from the arm to the shoulder.

When the amputation has been performed above the elbow, I fasten firmlyand rigidly to the forearm an iron rod or shaft, by means of a circularmetal band riveted to the inside of the forearm, as shown at v, Fig. 5.This rod or shaft (marked x, Fig. 5) I make of sufficient length tosustain the portion of the arm lost, hinged at the elbow, as shown at y,Fig. 5, and

fastened at its upper end to a circular metal' band, (marked z, Fig. 5,)which is also riveted to the inside of the leather casing, above theelbow. This leather casing is marked P, Fig. 5, and is about the form ofthe natural arm, and is fastened to the stump by straps or a lacing, asshown in Fig. 4, at its upper end, and is hinged to the forearm by therivet w, Fig. 4, at its lower end. I also attach to the upper end ofthis leather casing P, Fig. 4, one end of the elastic band or strapmarked o, Fig. 4, and the other end I fasten with an ordinary buckle tothe forearm, about midway between the elbow and wrist, and I make thisstrap o, Fig. 4, strong enough to hold the arm partly bent, as shown inFig. 4, when itis sustaining no weight, and still elastic enough toallow the arm to straighten when it is sustaining any considerableWeight. In connection with this strap o, Fig. 4, I also use the strap F,Fig. 1, attached to the ilexor cords f ff, Fig. 1.

It will be seen that the strap o, Fig. 4, by its strength holds the armbent, as shown in Fig. 4, and that when in that position the fingers canbe opened, as shown in Fig. 1, but that when a weight is placed in thehand the strap o, Fig. 4, by its elasticity will allow the arm tostraighten, and when the arm is straightened the strap F, Fig. 1, drawsup the flexor cords fff, Fig. 1, and thus closes the ngers, and when theweight is removed the strength of strap o, Fig. 4, brings upthe arm, sothat the fingers may be opened again.

When the entire arm has been removed, I carry the rod or shaft Fig. 5,to the shoulder, attaching to it as many circular bands as may benecessary to keep the leather casing P, Fig. 5, in shape above theelbow. The upper end of this rod or shaft fr, Fig. 5, I fasten by a hookto an eye riveted to the shoulderpad J, Fig. 5, at p, Fig. 5, and Iattach to the eye a small cross-piece, (marked r, Fig. 5,) to preventthe arm from swinging backward in walking, or otherwise.

I do not claim as my invention the elbowjoint, or the use of the band orleather casing above the elbow, or the shoulder-pad5 but What I do claimas my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. .The use of the fleXor cordsfff, Fig. 1, and thestrap F, for thepurpose of closing the fingers andthumb, essentially as above deiscribed.

2. The use of the elastic strap o, Fig. 4, in` combination withthe strapF and the flexor cords f f f, Fig, l, for the purpose essentially asabove described.

3. The use of the, hook and eye marked p, Fig. 5, and cross piece r,Fig. 5, in combina tion withthe elastic strap o, Fig. 4, and the iexorcords f f f and strap F, Fig. 1, and rod or shaft a', Fig.` 5,essentiallyl as above described.` 4 v 4. The wrist-joint, constructedessentially as above described, in combi nation with the leXor cords fffand strap F, Fig. 1, as above described.

J AOOB PETERSON. Witnesses:

GEO. D. CowLEs, H. J. SEDGWIGK.

